SPEECH OF ACCEPTANCE 



HON. DUNBAR ROWLAND 





Qass t^ ' ^'f 



PRESENTED BY 




PH(5TOGRAPHIC FACSIMILF OF PORTRAIT OF JEFFERSON DAVIS, 
REPRODUCED FROM ORIGINAL PAINTING BY CARL GUTHERZ, WHICH 
HANGS IN THE MISSISSIPPI HALL OF FAME. 



speech of Acceptance 



By 

Hon. Dunbar Rowland 



Press of Brandon Printing Company 
Nashville, Tenn. 






(Pefjon) 

?3Mr*05 



SPEECH OF ACCEPTANCE. 



Governor Vardaman, Daughters of the Confederacy, Ladies 
and Gentlemen: 

In appearing before this cultured audience, which so 
fully represents the patriotism of Mississippi, it is hardly 
necessary to assure you that I am deeply sensible of the true 
significance of the occasion. 

The presentation by the Mississippi Division of the 
Daughters of the Confederacy to the State of this splendid 
portrait of Jefferson Davis reveafs the fact that our people 
honor, revere and love his memory with a devotion which 
increases with the passage of time. His likeness comes to 
us, draped in the silken folds of the flags he endeavored so 
nobly to defend, which is proof of a people's reverence for 
that past in which he bore so heroic a part, and an evidence 
of the pride which we of this generation take in the history 
of our fathers. 

So long as a people honor their past and revere the great 
characters who have enriched their history, so long will 
that people give noble deeds to the world. 

This patriotic offering to the State, of the likeness of its 
most illustrious citizen, is proof of the noble character of its 
people and bears witness of their affection for his memory. 
No name upon the pages of American history commands 
from the Southern people more honor, reverence and love 
than that of Jefferson Davis. We honor him for his un- 
wavering devotion to principle throughout a long and event- 



ful life, we revere him for his loyalty to a cause for which 
our fathers bled and died, and we love him because he suf- 
fered for us. 

Seneca was once asked by an ambitious Roman youth, 
"Who is the greatest man in history?" His answer was, 
"He who chooses the right with the most invincible resolu- 
tion." We are willing to apply that standard to the life and 
character of Jefferson Davis. 

This likeness of the President of the Confederacy rep- 
resents him as he was in 1861, when he delivered his fare- 
well address to the Senate of the United States. It recalls 
him at a time of life when he was at the full zenith of his 
magnificent powers, before the black havoc of civil war had 
swept across his pathway, saddening the light in his eye and 
furrowing his noble brow with heavy lines of care. 

A description of that scene in the Senate may serve to 
give this noble portrait an historical setting in the minds of 
those who have gathered here to do honor to the man it 
represents. 

Let us, then, picture the American Senate as it was on 
January 20, i86r. An eager throng packs the Senate cham- 
ber. Every seat is occupied and every foot of space holds a 
man. The galleries are filled to overflowing. The excited 
people have come to witness one of the most dramatic 
events which has ever occurred in the halls of the American 
Congress. John C. Breckenridge, the distinguished young 
Kentuckian, is presiding. The intelligence, genius, grace 
and culture of the nation compose this splendid audience. 
All is in waiting, when, during a moment of breathless 
anxiety, a tall, scholarly looking man with an ascetic. 



slightly melancholy air, rises in his seat. There is a look 
of quiet determination on his face. There is also evidence 
of deep emotion. You see something in the poise of his 
head, the dignity of his bearing, and hear something in the 
deep earnestness of his tones which tell you of a spirit ready 
for the painful duty that lies before him. That man is 
Jefferson Davis, a Senator from Mississippi, a member of 
the foremost rank, a soldier whose superb courage was 
shown at Buena Vista, a statesman, orator and logician, who 
is about to deliver a speech which is a personal farewell to 
the Senate and the valedictory of the Southern States. 

Mississippi had withdrawn from the Union and Jefferson 
Davis, her strongest stay, would not fail her in her hour of 
need, but chose to tread with her any path which she might 
walk in defense of her constitutional rights. She had ex- 
ercised a right that the nation had taught its sons at its 
great military academy. 

As the speaker, with majestic calmness and dignity, un- 
daunted by the suppressed excitement and intense feeling 
around him, begins to plead the cause which he believes to 
be right, he is followed with fixed and eager attention. As 
he continues the pathos of the situation makes strong men 
weep, for they feel that this is the official announcement of 
the dissolution of the Union. 

That farewell speech of Jefferson Davis is full of cour- 
age, dignity and moderation, and is famous in the annals of 
American oratory as one of the great epoch-making speeches 
of the century. 

In Grattdn's eulogy of Chatham he says that the great 
Englishman "was born to strike a blow in the world that 



sliould resound through its history." How well does that 
phrase portray the career of Jefferson Davis. 

There are certain attributes of character which rarely 
fail to make leaders of men who possess them. Mr. Davis 
had a rare combination of these great qualities. He was 
independent, self-reliant and resolute- He had earnest and 
intelligent convictions, combined with intense devotion to 
principle. He had a magnificent courage, which commanded 
the admiration of the people, and an integrity of character 
which won their confidence. He was not an ephemeral 
growth, springing into existence from abnormal social con- 
ditions, but the splendid product of a civilization which had 
given to the world the most superb characters known to 
history. Jefiferson Davis was of patrician mould. He was 
endowed by nature with the rarest qualities of both mind 
and spirit, to which had been added the highest culture and 
training. The people of Mississippi delighted to honor him, 
and during the long period of his public service not a 
shadow of wrong ever marked his conduct. It was but an 
added proof of the high esteem in which the Southern peo- 
ple held him, that when the Confederacy was organized he 
was placed at its head. Mr. Davis had a wonderful com- 
prehension of the terrible struggle which was before him, 
and with rare judgment he called to his side the men who 
became the heroes of history. Together they led the great 
struggle for an independent nationality. They felt that the 
constitution of their fathers had been violated, and with a 
spirit which animated the makers of that palladium of 
liberty, they rallied to its defense. The cause for which 
they fought failed, but greatness does not always consist in 



gaining something, but in being true. Not for one moment 
during that long and bitter struggle did these princely spirits 
waver in their devotion to duty. They emerged from that 
bloody conflict with unstained honor, and no memory of 
their recreancy remains to-day to torture the sons of the 
South. 

Great as the leader of the Southern Confederacy appears 
at every period of his life, at no time does his adamantine 
strength of character display itself as in the hour of defeat. 
With a courage that could not be broken, and a fortitude 
which was strengthened by affliction, he bore himself in that 
dark hour as only a hero could, and gave to the world no 
outward sign of what his great soul suffered. Though not a 
ray of that splendid hope, which had arched its beautiful 
bow above his country, remained to cheer him, he refused 
to regard life as a burden and a failure. He believed that 
life was the supremest gift of God, and continued to pursue 
its aims and ends with a noble interest that is unprecedented 
in history and beautiful to contemplate. 

He toiled, even to extreme old age, to give as his parting 
blessing to the children of the South a true history of their 
fathers' deeds. 

To us he represents all that is best in Southern character, 
and we shall continue to honor him as long as one fair 
green stretch of this beautiful land, for whose honor he gave 
himself a willing sacrifice, remains in our keeping. 

Daughters of the Confederacy, you have wrought well. 
You have given to Mississippi many noble proofs of your 
affection. To-day you bring a gift which touches her great 
heart, for it represents the purest and most unselfish love, 



and is proof of that sublime devotion to country wliich so 
truly characterized your mothers. 

It has been my pleasant privilege to place in the State's 
Hall of Fame the portraits of many distinguished Missis- 
sippians, and I have cherished with pride the place which 
to me is a beautiful memorial to what is true, high and 
noble in our State life. It is with a heart touched with 
reverential awe that I shall place this noble likeness there, 
for in its majestic presence I feel as if I stood before some 
sacred shrine, upon whose holy altars burn a sacrifice to 
Truth and Justice. 

In accepting from you this offering of love, this work of 
genius, for which I tender sincerest thanks, I assure you 
that it shall have the place of honor among that splendid 
galaxy of great spirits, and throughout the years it shall 
serve to remind future generations of the love of those who 
gave it. 



I.BAg"C5 



